International firefighters bring energy — and expertise — to B.C.'s worst season

White trucks fill a parking lot down a dusty road next to the airport in Vanderhoof, B.C.

It's usually a sleepy place with just a few Cessnas flying in and out. But in recent months the parking lot has transformed into a home base for firefighters attached to the Vanderhoof-Fort St. James wildfire complex in Central B.C. 

This is where incoming international firefighters meet their beleaguered local counterparts, a welcome relief for those who have been on the front lines for weeks and sometimes months.

Out of nearly 250 firefighters deployed to the wildfire complex right now, there are almost 100 international personnel alongside another 75 from the Canadian Armed Forces.

The international teams, mostly from Mexico, the U.S., and Australia, bring an injection of energy and morale, and often a wealth of experience.

Learning the lay of the land

Back in Australia, Gary Miller is a forester with about 20 years experience fighting fires. In B.C., Miller is the division supervisor for the area south of Vanderhoof.

"Initially, I was very nervous about the role — just being in a foreign country with foreign equipment and not knowing the lay of the land," Miller said. "But I had a really good briefing … and I perform this type of role in Australia."  

Miller has enough experience to know that, while the weather has tamped down the aggressive fire behaviour the region was seeing just a week ago, firefighters are not out of the woods yet. The reprieve could be short-lived. 

"These things have a habit of biting you when you least expect it, so we're still working hard," he said. 

Miller and his crews are glad for the time to get to know their international counterparts, establish new relationships, and get two feet on the ground  before potential crunch time.

For him, the biggest adjustment is the terrain.

"Even in the middle of a drought, there is so much more water here than back home," he said.

"The lakes and wetlands are an issue for firefighting as much as a help. You have to work your way around to get access to the fires"

But Miller says there are more similarities than differences: the long hours, the smoke, the relentlessness of these long-burning fires. 

Ricardo Garcia Pacheco leads wildfire response for the state of Durango in Mexico.

Pacheco has been fighting Canadian fires since 2017. He spoke to CBC News with the help of translator and crew member Santiago Corva.   

Pacheco says the main difference between the two countries is resource allocation. His work in Mexico relies more on human power than heavy machinery. 

"But in the end, the strategy is the same," he said. "The main objective is to retain that fire, and limit spread."

Now, his crew of 20 firefighters from across Mexico are ensuring the fires that hit their peak last week are out for good, and not smouldering underground. With a record-setting area burned in this region, it's no small task. 

Learning from past experience

At its worst so far this season, there were almost 50 fires fires burning in the Vanderhoof-Fort St James region alone — an exceptional amount for a single incident management team to handle.

But that number is going down as crews bring fires under control. 

The Great Beaver Lake fire is the only wildfire of note in the complex now, as the other six were downgraded last Sunday. 

Miller says he sees echoes of Australia's worst fire season on record a few years ago, fuelled in part by a years-long drought. Having seen worn-out firefighters on the front lines for months, Miller says the situation in Central B.C. feels familiar. 

"It has brought back memories of how tired I was, and wondering when is it all going to end," he said. "It felt like the whole world was going to burn at one point." 

He says he's using that experience now to help British Columbians navigate their worst fire season in recorded history. 

As crews find their footing, forecasters are watching for changing conditions and expecting another shift toward warmer, more volatile fire conditions in August.